


Insubordination

by tinycrown



Series: The King's Advisors [4]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Stormheim Questline, Pre-Argus, anduin is trying to stay mad but hes just worried as FUCK, genn has a bit of a PTSD moment, or: me giving you worried anduin bc remember when genn got shot in the chest lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24398704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinycrown/pseuds/tinycrown
Summary: “What do you want me to say, Genn?”“You are not mine to lose.”
Relationships: Anduin Wrynn & Genn Greymane
Series: The King's Advisors [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1694797
Comments: 13
Kudos: 46





	Insubordination

**Author's Note:**

> just to make things clear(er) this is a prequel to my first oneshot “Sour”

“Greymane.”

Genn paused to turn his head, brows furrowing.

“Your majesty.” he greeted tersely, his arms tensing as his eyes brushed Anduin’s fierce gaze. He hadn’t seen the young king since before Varian’s funeral- refused to, even. His cowardly actions led to nothing but grief and anger- as it was no doubt written all over Anduin’s face. 

Hells, Anduin had never called him just _‘Greymane’_ before. 

In the midst of a war with the greatest threat to their world, he’d left him _alone._ Wanting vengeance for the friend he lost, he left _his_ son behind. Varian did not make him promise anything- not to take care of Anduin, no. Only to bring his letter to the boy- but the obligation to look after him, to make sure he was okay… It felt like a great duty, and yet...

… He did not even give Anduin the letter _himself._

He was a coward. A vengeful, spiteful coward. He could slide a blade across the throat of a forsaken easily, and yet… matters of the heart were nearly beyond his grasp. 

But if anyone deserved vengeance during this tumultuous time... it was Anduin. It was not _Sylvanas_ that had killed Varian, no, even he could understand as such. It was the slimy, bastardous orc Gul’dan. It was not the first time that Gul’dan- of _any_ universe- had slain a Wrynn. But Sylvanas was easy to blame, what with everything she had done in the past. She was just more reachable than that damnable orc. 

“I need to speak with you. Come.” There was no room for hesitation. His voice was tight and clipped- almost as if he were holding something back. His back was straight and his fists were clenched. Genn felt a throb in his chest, over the scar where Sylvanas had punctured him. He reached up and rubbed the part of his coat that covered the still-tender wound, wrapped in soft gauze. 

Stormwind Keep felt colder than it used to be. 

Perhaps it was because it was nearing nightfall, the sun setting deep under the horizon just behind him. The moons and stars were soon to come out, or maybe they’d be covered by the fog of the Legion looming over them, and there’d be nothing but dark clouds full of rain, and maybe felfire. 

Anduin waved his guards away as he limped into his office. Genn eyed his leg, hidden by his overcoat but still undoubtedly weak. His hands clenched as he held back from helping the boy to his chair, knowing how much the cold affected his joints at this point. Anduin instead leaned against the back of his desk, folding his arms as the sound of the door clicking shut softly permeated the silence. 

Genn almost wanted to stare at the floor to lift the heavy pressure of Anduin’s anger away from him. He knew that he had screwed up-gone against Anduin’s direct order, _do not engage with the Horde. The Aegis is your target._ The only good things to come of it were more dead Forsaken and a free titanic watcher the Skold-Ashil vrykul warriors called a goddess. Sylvanas had planned to use some magical lantern she retrieved from Helya to enslave the watcher to her will to create more Forsaken. 

He felt sick just thinking about it. 

“You know why I’m upset.” Anduin said quickly, his chest rising and falling a little faster than Genn would like. His leg must be aching. He wet his lips, nodding as he raised his gaze back up to the young man in front of him. Obviously distressed, and angry- and yet something new in his eyes. Worry. 

Genn faltered, and spoke. 

“I disobeyed your orders, your majesty.” Anduin took a deep breath, exhaling shakily. 

“What _were_ they, Genn?” He stared down at the boy, standing a little straighter, his shoulders squared. He felt pride well low in his heart.

“Not to engage Windrunner’s fleet in combat unless absolutely necessary.” Genn’s brow furrowed as the young king began to gnaw at his lip. 

_“You_ were the one to strike first, if I understand these reports correctly,” Anduin reached back to the desk, and held out a file folder with quill ink scrawled over the tab, ‘Stormheim’. When Genn nodded again, his head tilted at the older king’s silence. “You hunted her forces as much as they hunted you, and _ref_ _used_ to report as such until days later.” Anduin dropped the thick folder onto his desk with a loud _thump,_ and Genn closed his hands behind his back as the boy pushed away from his desk. 

“I felt it best we dealt with the situation ourselves, with the bulk of our forces spread across the entirety of the Isles.” Genn kept his eyes forward, staring into the eyes of Varian’s painting just behind the desk chair. He heard another breath, shaky at best. He resisted the urge to look down at the young king, just to see if he was alright. 

“There was nothing for weeks, we didn’t even know if you were alive- scouts weren’t fast enough, people saw your airship go down... and then _what?”_ More breaths, and Genn squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds. The flash of remembrance, the plummet of his heart into his stomach as the rush of adrenaline surged through him once more. They’d simply dropped out of the sky after an ear-piercing explosion, the rush of arrows, the screeching of the bats as they swooped in and plucked his guard from the ship and dropped them into the rocky crag as if there were dolls meant to be discarded like toys. He’d watched as two bat-riders plucked his guard up and torn him in half. Simple and plain. There was _so much more._

Genn had seen warfare for decades. He’d witnessed horrific, gruesome deaths- men torn apart just like that one, it wasn’t anything new and yet… it was always more real than before. His burning hatred grew tenfold with each life wasted, and then raised. 

Their corpses were stolen and forced to _her_ will. Stitched back together into something ugly and unlovable. 

Genn was once told that Forsaken were given the choice at the birth of their undeath. Serve the Banshee Queen, or go on your way. Live a new life, however unwanted it may be. He’d admit, he could respect that _she_ gave them a choice. But it was no longer a choice. Not anymore. Free will, something that could be taken for granted. The living were not bound to any one spirit, no less an _undead banshee._

“Greymane.” 

He shut his eyes again, and breathed. Just as shaky as Anduin’s. The stress, the fear- he’d lost so much, and there was still so much more to lose.

“Genn!”

He blinked and looked down, knocked out of his stupor. How long had he just been standing there, stagnant, staring into Varian’s painted face? 

“Are you alright?” Anduin’s face was soft, and his voice softer. His hand was bare- thin scars marring pale skin as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Right beside the pad of gauze soaked in balm and blood. Genn inhaled sharply as he squeezed, trying to tie him back into reality. 

“As alright as I can be, your majesty.” His hands tightened behind his back as he too squared his shoulders, eyes narrowing as the tearing pain stretched across his collar. 

“The reports mentioned something else,” Anduin sighed, letting go of his shoulder, a lingering look sent to his chest that held something close to the worry he’d noticed before. The slight furrow in his brow turned upward. “Sylvanas was attempting to enslave a val’kyr to create _more_ val’kyr to raise a larger forsaken army. I… cannot bring myself to reprimand you for this… privately, I am glad,” Anduin admitted, gaze flickering to the floor. “I’m sure many people are thankful.”

Genn unclasped his hands from behind his back, and brought his hand up to brush against his shoulder, lingering over the sticky pad to press it closer to his wound. Anduin stared at his arm for a few moments, and folded his arms once more. 

“I do not regret my actions. However… I regret the… _initial_ confrontation. There were smarter ways for me to take my approach that did not involve a headstrong charge. In my anger I seemed to have… overlooked the use of my scouts,” Genn bowed his head slightly, “In my rush for victory I wasted lives… they weigh heavily on my shoulders. I will not allow such a mistake to happen again, I swear this to you.” 

But he’d said that many a time, hadn’t he? 

He looked up again to find Anduin looking at him with _worry,_ he was concerned. Afraid, even. Genn noticed he’d developed bad posture in the short time he’d been talking, his spine curved uncomfortably and his shoulders drooped. He forced himself upright again, jaw clenched. 

“Genn, another thing…” Anduin stepped forward and placed a hand on his chest, peering up at him with his brows upturned and his fingers trembling. “How bad is- _was_ it?” He fumbled around his words, unsure of what could be worse. He probably didn’t know that Genn remembered all of it. The stitching had been numb- but the antidote slathered over his skin above the liquid that cleaned his wound burned like acid poured straight into his chest. 

“I am alright now, my boy.” He said quietly, watching as Anduin gazed with big, round eyes at his own hand sitting right over the wound. His face was almost childlike, the fear and realization- Genn could have _died._

“In her letter- Tess… her writing, she sounded so afraid… and so, _so_ angry- she sounded like _you,_ ready to march off and claim vengeance at the drop of a hat… and your condition hadn’t even been determined yet. But I find out only on the corner of the page that it was written _days_ ago and I was-” Anduin cut himself off, hand clenched into a fist on his chest, pressing his lips together as he inhaled, shakily. 

“Mia was terrified.” He clarified, gnawing at his lips again. Overly-bitten, scabbed, and chapped. 

Genn gasped as a flood of Light filled him, pouring through his chest, Anduin’s eyes squeezed shut as he whispered a prayer under his breath. It was frantic and soft, a hue of white and yellow enveloping his fist. Genn reached up and covered it with his own, pressing down so Anduin could feel a strong, steady heartbeat under his palm. 

He hadn’t thought about his wife or his daughter when he was focused on stopping Sylvanas. He found thinking about his family to be distracting when he knew he had so much to lose, when _they_ had so much to lose. It made the fighting easier to handle when he wasn’t fixated on the exact position of a nocked arrow or a thrown blade, when he could ravage through his enemies like the wild animal that he _was._

He hadn’t thought about Anduin, either.

It was only after Anduin had let his hand slip from his chest, leaving no pain or discomfort behind as he quickly turned from Genn’s blurred gaze and back to his desk. His shoulders were tense as he wrapped his arms around himself. 

“You should go, I’m sorry I’ve kept you so long. You need to rest, and Mia has been staying in the guest quarters upstairs down the hall from my room since the letters finally arrived. I’m sure Tess is there now, you should let them know you’re alright,” Anduin turned halfway to him, a small smile spreading his trembling lips. “Maybe go back to Darnassus for a while! It’s safer there.” Genn could spot the fake tone from miles away. There was something wrong. He’d gone from angry, too worried, too upset within a matter of moments. Anduin was always one to wear his emotions and intentions on his sleeve.

He was hoping, soon, that Anduin wouldn’t be so easy to understand. It was dangerous, and it showed too much vulnerability.

Genn’s eyes flicked up to Varian’s painting again, and he frowned. What would _he_ do? Anduin had turned back away from him, not moving- just breathing, holding himself. He was waiting for Genn to leave. 

“Anduin-”

“What do you want me to _say,_ Genn?” His voice was clipped again when he interrupted him, swallowing audibly. There was silence, waiting for the indication that Genn would speak again. When there was none, Anduin’s words were painfully soft. “You are not mine to lose.” 

Something jumpstarted in his chest, and he lurched forward, ripping the boy from his thoughts as he pulled Anduin into his arms. He tucked his ragged blonde head under his chin as Anduin clung to him, fingers digging into the back of his coat. His shoulders continued to tremble, but he refused to cry as Genn rubbed his back soothingly. He carded his fingers through Anduin’s loose ponytail, shaky breaths dampening the side of his neck. 

He pulled away and settled his hand on Anduin’s shoulders. His stormy blue eyes- just like Varian’s- were glazed over with unshed tears. 

“I am afraid to lose you too.” Genn leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead, smoothing his bangs back like he would when Liam was a boy. He pressed a calloused thumb under Anduin’s eye, wiping away a tear that was beginning to fall. He leaned into his palm, sniffing quietly as a real smile broke through his dismal expression.

“Would you all like to have dinner with me later, maybe?” He asked. Genn grinned and nodded, squeezing his shoulders once more as he stepped away, heading for the door. 

Anduin never reprimanded _just_ to lay into his peers. He had always cared too much to hold that level of coldness. Genn should have known that, going in- but now, he’d never forget.

**Author's Note:**

> anduin not wanting to lose anyone and freaking out about people getting hurt is peak angst and fluff content
> 
> im sorry ive been gone so long :(  
> writers block hit me hard and ive lost motivation. im writing the next chapter of shipwrecked very slowly!! but its coming!! ive just been playin a lot of wow and terraria and stardew to waste my time, i guess sometimes people need breaks? but ill have plenty more time to get back into now that school is over! it ended for me today :)))
> 
> Let me know what you think!  
> <3<3<3<3<3


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